OVERVIEW
What is an Electronic Funds Transfer?
An electronic funds transfer (EFT) is a non-paper, computer-to-computer transfer of funds from a taxpayer's financial institution account to Treasury's account at a Federal Reserve Bank. Such transfers are initiated through an electronic terminal and not by check, money order, or other paper instrument.
Did you know…?
An EFT is a secure, efficient, and less expensive payment option than paper transactions. The estimated cost of processing an EFT transaction is about 10 times less (and more environmentally friendly) than a paper transaction.
How does this apply to me?
TTB accepts electronic payments through the Federal Reserve Communications System and through Automated Clearing House (ACH) credit transfers. Please note that large taxpayers must pay excise taxes by electronic funds transfer.
- Fedwire Transfers: EFT payments through the Federal Reserve Communications System (using Fedwire) to Treasury's main account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York are completed on the day they are initiated, generally in a matter of minutes. The Federal Reserve (Fed) guarantees the payment is final as soon as the receiving institution is notified. The Fed debits the taxpayer’s bank account and credits the account of Treasury for TTB.
- ACH Credit Transfers: The ACH system is an electronic network for financial transactions in the United States. ACH credit transfers are completed on the following business day. TTB recommends Pay.gov for ACH transfers.
For general information on making EFT payments to TTB and to find out if you are required to make payments by EFT, please read TTB Procedure 2011-1. The information below is provided as a supplement to the Procedure.
EFT Via Fedwire
Fedwire Format
Fedwire Originator to Beneficiary Information
EFT Via Automated Clearing House (ACH) Credit
ACH Format
Addendum Record Format for ACH
ACH Payment Related Data Element
Specific Examples of Identifying Information
Sample International EFT Payment
EFT VIA FEDWIRE
Taxpayers must provide specific information to their financial institution so that a transfer of funds to TTB can take place. A sample Fedwire format and a description of required information are shown below. For each separate transaction, some of the information remains constant, while the taxpayer and financial institution must provide other information. Taxpayers must take into account any deadlines established by their financial institution to transmit the Fedwire payment to the appropriate Department of the Treasury account in a timely manner.
Taxpayers and their financial institutions should use extreme care in providing information for Fedwire payments. Failure to supply correct information can result in errors that may subject the taxpayer to penalties and interest for late payment. Taxpayers are strongly urged to carefully review this section and the Fedwire format shown below with their financial institution well in advance of the date on which the first electronic fund transfer (EFT) is to be sent to TTB via Fedwire.
FEDWIRE FORMAT
Item definitions for the required information for a Fedwire funds transfer to the U.S. Treasury and a sample Fedwire are given below.
Definition of Required Information for Fedwire
| Tag Name | Tag | Required Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type/Subtype Code | (1510) | Type and Subtype Codes are entered by the sender. The type and subtype codes will be provided by the sending financial institution and are required for all Fedwire transactions.
| ||
| Amount | (2000) | The dollar amount of the transfer. The amount will include the dollar sign and the appropriate punctuation including cent digits.
| ||
| Sender FI | (3100) | Identifies the sending financial institution's nine digit routing number and short name. The sending financial institution will provide this information.
| ||
| Sender Reference | (3320) | The sending financial institution's reference information may be inserted by the sending financial institution to identify the transaction.
| ||
| Receiver FI | (3400) | Identifies the receiving institution. The nine-digit identifier 021030004 is the routing number for the Treasury’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The short name for this Treasury account is TREAS NYC. This item is a constant and is required for all Fedwire transfers sent to Treasury.
| ||
| Beneficiary | (4200) | Provided by the Federal agency. The unique eight digit numeric symbol (Agency Location Code) used to identify the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is 20100003. The agency name may also be provided and entered in the field. This item is a constant and is required for all Fedwire payments sent to Treasury for payment of TTB taxes.
| ||
| Originator to Beneficiary Information | (6000) | Used to identify information conveyed from originator to the beneficiary; e.g., details of payment, EIN, registry, Plant or Permit number, tax form number, and tax period. (See “Fedwire Originator to Beneficiary Information” below.) | ||
Sample of a Funds Transfer Made Through Fedwire
| Type/Subtype Code | (1510) | 10 00 |
| Amount | (2000) | $9,999,999.99 |
| Sender FI | (3100) | 999999999 BANK XYZ |
| Sender Reference | (3320) | 97040300066030303 |
| Receiver FI | (3400) | 021030004 TREAS NYC |
| Beneficiary | (4200) | D 20100003 Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau |
| Originator to Beneficiary Information | (6000) | Example: EIN, permit #, form #, due date, and tax period. |
FEDWIRE ORIGINATOR TO BENEFICIARY INFORMATION
In order for TTB to properly credit your payment, the “Originator to Beneficiary Information” field must contain the appropriate information to identify the taxpayer and tax form. The Originator to Beneficiary information field tag is used to signify the beginning of the free-form third party text. An example of data in this category for a funds transfer to TTB made through Fedwire reads as follows:
Taxpayer Name: The taxpayer's name as it appears on the TTB tax form.
Employer Identification Number: The nine digit number assigned by IRS. In order for TTB to properly credit your payment, the EIN must be included in this field.
Registry, Permit, or Plant Number (alcohol and tobacco taxpayers only):
In order for TTB to properly credit your tax payment, taxpayers assigned a registry, permit, or plant number by TTB must include that number in this field. In the case of taxpayers in Puerto Rico, commonwealth location as shown on the tax return will be given in lieu of a registry, permit, or plant number.
Tax Return Identification: Identify the form number of the tax return and the tax period for which the Fedwire payment is being made. For example:
| Form Number | Tax Period |
|---|---|
| 5000.24 | S/N 09–01 |
| 5000.25 | S/N 09–01 |
| 5000.28T09 | 4/1/09 |
| 5300.26 | 1/1/09 – 3/31/09 |
| 5630.5 | 7/1/09 – 6/30/10 |
NOTE: Failure to include all required identifying information with your payment could result in your payment being misapplied or not applied to your account.
EFT VIA AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE (ACH) CREDIT
The prescribed transaction format or payment type within ACH for TTB is Cash Concentration and Disbursement plus addendum record (CCD+).
The following is a brief synopsis of how ACH Credit works:
- The taxpayer will transmit electronic payment instructions and accompanying remittance data to their financial institution sufficiently in advance to pass payment to the ACH 1 business day prior to the due date.
- The taxpayer’s financial institution insures the timely payment, insures that it is formatted in the correct CCD+ format, and passes the payment file into the ACH network.
- Overnight, the ACH network delivers the payment to Treasury's Account at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond for credit to TTB.
- TTB retrieves the remittance data through the CA$H-LINK financial reporting system and updates taxpayers account.
ACH FORMAT
The following is a description of the data utilized by the financial institution in originating the ACH payment to TTB.
Sample of ACH Data for Financial Institutions for use in Originating ACH Payments to TTB in ACH CCD+ FORMAT
| Data Element Name | Contents | Size | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record Type Code* | '6' | 1 | 01-01 (Standard Field) |
| Transaction Code* | '22' | 2 | 02-03 (Standard Field) |
| Receiving ABA* | '05103670' | 8 | 04-11 (Standard Field) |
| Check Digit* | '6' | 1 | 12-12 (Standard Field) |
| Account Number ** | 220038 | 17 | 13-29 (TTB Specific Data) |
| Payment Amount | $$$$$$$$cc | 10 | 30-39 |
| Identification No** | Taxpayer EIN | 15 | 40-54 (TTB Specific Data) |
| Receiver Name** | TTB | 22 | 55-76 (TTB Specific Data) |
| Discretionary | BLANK | 2 | 77-78 |
| Addenda Indicator** | '1' | 1 | 79-79 (TTB Specific Data) |
| Trace Number | Assigned by Financial Institution | 15 | 80-94 Financial Institution |
* These fields are pre-defined fields.
** These fields are mandatory fields specific to TTB.
ADDENDUM RECORD FORMAT FOR ACH
An Addendum Record must accompany the data from the originating ACH payment described above.
Sample Addendum Record Format
| Data Element Name | Contents | Size | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record Type Code | '07' | 1 | 01-01 |
| Addenda type Code | '05' | 2 | 02-03 |
| Payment Related*** | Alpha/numeric Information | 80 | 04-83 (TTB Specific Data) |
| Sequence Number | Addenda number Starting at 0001 | 4 | 84-87 |
| Addenda Trace Number | Same as last 7 numbers of detail Trace Number Assigned by your Financial Institution | 7 | 88-94 |
*** This field must contain mandatory information for Payment Related Information to aid TTB in identifying the taxpayer and tax return/deposit.
(See below for Instructions.)
ACH PAYMENT RELATED DATA ELEMENT
The Payment Related data element in the ACH addendum record must contain the appropriate information to identify the taxpayer and tax return/deposit. An example of data in this category for TTB would be as follows:
Taxpayer Name: The taxpayer's name as it appears on the TTB tax form.
Employer Identification Number: The nine digit number assigned by IRS. In order for TTB to properly credit your payment, the EIN must be included in this data element.
Registry, Permit or Plant Number (Alcohol and Tobacco taxpayers only): In order for TTB to properly credit your tax payment, taxpayers assigned a registry, permit or plant number by TTB, must include this number in this data element. In the case of taxpayers in Puerto Rico, commonwealth location as shown on the tax return will be given in lieu of a registry, permit, or plant number.
Tax Return Identification: Identify the form number of the tax return and tax period for which the ACH payment is being made. For example:
| Form Number | Tax Period |
| 5000.24 | S/N 09–01 |
| 5000.25 | S/N 09–01 |
| 5000.28T09 | 4/1/09 |
| 5300.26 | 1/1/09 – 3/31/09 |
| 5630.5 | 7/1/09 – 6/30/10 |
IMPORTANT: Each item above must be separated by a space or a comma (i.e., TAXPAYER NAME,EIN,PERMIT NUMBER,TTB TAX FORM NUMBER,TAX PERIOD).
Failure to include all required identifying information with your payment could result in your payment being misapplied or not applied to your account.
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF IDENTIFYING INFORMATION OUTLINED ABOVE
Example 1: EXCISE TAX (ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO)
Mondays Wine Lodge,54-1010101,BW-CA-XXXX,5000.24,01/01/09,01/15/09
Example 2: EXCISE TAX (FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION)
Wednesdays Gun Shop,54-0101010,5300.26,01/01/03-03/31/03
Example 3: SPECIAL OCCUPATIONAL TAX (SOT)
| (A) | Full Year: Tobacco, Inc.54-4545454.5630.5,07/01/09-6/30/10 |
| (B) | Partial Year: Cigar Makers, LLC54-5454545,5630.5,01/01/10-06/30/10 |
Example 4: FLOOR STOCKS TAX (FST)
Local Corner Store,54-7775555,5000.28T09,04/01/09,04/01/09
REMINDER: To ensure proper classification and posting of your payment remember to supply the correct TTB form number. The TTB form numbers listed above are just a few examples; there are many more TTB form numbers than listed here.
SAMPLE INTERNATIONAL EFT PAYMENT
An item definition of required information for an international funds transfer message to the Treasury and a sample EFT message are given below.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING AN INTERNATIONAL EFT TO TTB
If the payment is being sent in U.S. Dollars (USD) use the following instructions:
| Beneficiary: | Use appropriate Agency/Bureau name that is receiving payment |
| SWIFT Code: | CITIUS33 |
| Account Number: | 36838868 |
| Account Name: | Federal Reserve Bank of New York/ITS |
| Bank: | Citibank N.A. (New York) |
| Bank Address: | 388 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013 |
| Payment Details (Line 70): | ALC 20100003 Tax and Trade Bureau, ATTN RAS 513-684-2300 |
| Detail of Charges (Line 71a): | Our |
NOTES:
(1) For a USD payment, include the Agency’s ALC in the Payment Details (line 70) or the payment will be returned. Without that information the payment cannot be properly credited.
(2) Code line 71A (Detail of Charges) as “Our” or “Charge Our”. This will charge any processing fees to the sender and prevent them from being debited from the payment.
TTB G 2010-20
OPR: NRC
Feb. 01, 2011
Maintained by: National Revenue Center and Regulations and Rulings Division